At iLEAD Academy, a team of student leaders has turned the art of running a meeting into a ticket to the national stage. After months of preparation and practice, the school’s Chapter Team earned second place at the state competition, securing a spot at nationals by flawlessly executing a simulated club meeting governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.
The team of Edwin Rodriguez, Matthew Carmack, Reese Morgan, Christopher Perez, Evan Alsup, and Duncan Mills represented iLEAD in a contest that simulates a formal meeting using Robert’s Rules of Order. The competition tested their leadership, organization, and quick-thinking skills in a high-pressure, time-sensitive format.
The team’s success came down to precision and preparation. As Edwin Rodriguez, the team's president, explained, “The project itself was running a full, official club meeting. Anything we discussed had to be planned and executed according to Robert’s Rules of Order.”
To prepare, the team began by dissecting the competition rubric, identifying what judges were looking for and tailoring their strategy accordingly. “We looked at the rubric to see which parts we needed to implement,” Edwin said. “We created a script to help us stay on track, but we practiced enough that we didn’t need to say every word exactly.”
Their meeting agenda had to include at least three topics with specific parliamentary procedures. Each member had a unique role to play. Matthew Carmack, who stepped in as vice president after the original VP couldn’t attend, had to amend a budget item, refer back to discussion points from a prior meeting, and propose a new discussion item all within the strict 15-minute time limit.
“I’m pretty good at public speaking, so once we got going, it wasn’t too difficult,” Matthew said. “But before it started, I was nervous. Some groups just read a script, but we had more flexibility. That helped us.”
Each member of the Chapter Team had to know their position inside and out. Reese Morgan served as historian, Christopher Perez as sergeant at arms, Duncan Mills as treasurer, and Evan Alsup as secretary—a role that came with its own unique challenge.
“Right after the meeting, I had just five minutes to write the minutes,” Evan explained. “It was kind of hard because I wasn’t used to it. But we followed the same pattern we practiced.”
Despite the carefully written script and planning, the team was hit with a curveball on competition day.
“They gave us a new prompt, and we had to make an agenda from scratch in just a minute or two,” said Edwin. “We had practiced for one scenario, but then had to improvise a new one. Luckily, we knew the format well enough to adapt.”
Part of the challenge included knowing where each officer sat, how to identify their position with symbolic items, like Evan’s pen representing the secretary, and reciting their roles confidently.
“It’s all about procedure,” Evan added. “You have to know your responsibilities and perform them in the right order.”
Now, with state behind them, the iLEAD team is focused on nationals. “There’s a lot more to running a meeting than people think,” Edwin said. “But when you work together and understand the process, it’s a powerful skill.”